Nathalie: No, we haven’t. I mean, she’s a beautiful, talented woman. I would happily take the compliments.
Aside from ad-libbing that line, what other input did you have with your character?
Nathalie: Mindy and [showrunner and executive producer] Tracey Wigfield were so receptive to notes and opinions and supported my input to Maya. There were moments where I was like, “I think we need to do this element of it more or this element of it less,” and they were really receptive. For instance, [in one scene] Maya wakes up and has her hair wrapped in a silk scarf. That’s something I do every single night. Any natural hair girl, or black people with black hair, are going to wrap their hair at night, so that was really important to me to show that.
Those details are so important. This Is Us had a moment last season with Melanie Liburd’s character (Zoe) and how she needs to sleep on a silk pillowcase for her hair.
Nathalie: I love Melanie! Anybody with textured hair knows a cotton pillowcase is going to dry your hair out. So if I don’t have a silk pillowcase, I always have a silk scarf. That way at least my hair is covered.
You’ve been busy the last few years, but what’s on your wish list going forward?
Nathalie: My wish list is to try different things and try my hand at as many different projects as possible. I try not to limit myself. It’s really about the challenge. Four Weddings is no exception. It’s so far removed from anything I’ve done before. I had the challenge of doing the accent and having much more responsibility in a role than I’d had before. Going forward, my passion is moving toward making my own stuff and hopefully acting in them too. I’ve done these big, monstrous-sized pieces—like Game of Thrones, Fast and Furious, all of that—but I’m always looking for those much more grounded, dramatic roles. That’s not something I’ve really done yet, and I’m excited to do next.
And for those who haven’t seen you in fast-paced, action roles, Four Weddings will introduce you to a new audience.
Nathalie: This is my first kind of lead role, and it’s much scarier when these things come out. When I’m involved in Game of Thrones and Fast and Furious, I’m very much a supporting role in a big, well-established thing. When you’re at the forefront of something, you feel much more exposed and vulnerable. But it’s great…it’s these things you should do to face the fear and take the reigns. I’m excited for people to see it because we poured so much love into it and so much light. It was such a joy to shoot.
